


page by page

by Tazmaster



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Library, Awkward Flirting, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Minor Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-29 19:45:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16271081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tazmaster/pseuds/Tazmaster
Summary: When Thor walks into the library, he takes in the familiarity gladly. He knew the entire staff at this point, who would always greet him with waves or soft smiles. He always enjoys how quaint and quiet it is, how warm they always keep it and how he can just slip away.Except this time, someone new was sitting at the desk.





	page by page

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [page by page (traducida)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16547768) by [Winchesterxk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winchesterxk/pseuds/Winchesterxk)



> this was requested by a lovely friend of mine who wanted a librarian/avid reader au! i hope you enjoy!

Mythology was always something his family treasured, as his mother used to love reading Norse myths to Loki and him as children. They both loved it too of course, with the two of them always fighting over who got to choose the story for the night. His mother would laugh fondly and take it upon herself to choose the story for them instead.

He missed those bits from his childhood the most. Reading mythology brought a comfortable nostalgia for him and he found himself visiting the library more and more every week. 

When Thor walks into the library, he takes in the familiarity gladly. He knew the entire staff at this point, who would always greet him with waves or soft smiles. He always enjoys how quaint and quiet it is, how warm they always keep it and how he can just slip away.

Except this time, someone new was sitting at the desk.

When Thor walks in, he’s not greeted by a wave or smile, but instead he sees a mop of curly hair. The man behind the desk peeks up to look at him, eyeing him curiously behind thick rimmed glasses. 

He doesn’t pay him much attention and a part of him misses Steve, who he would usually find behind the desk. He was always reading up on art history and whenever Thor would come to check out books, he’d shove his sketchbook aside and help. Thor loved catching glimpses of his art, he would have to remember to ask if he could flip through it someday.

Thor situates himself, plopping his book bag near an armchair and mindlessly pulling a book off the shelf. He curls up on the chair comfortably before getting lost in the words.

-

He doesn’t look up from his book until his phone buzzes. He ignores it until it starts whining over and over again. Annoyed, he fishes it out of his backpack, knowing texts from Loki await him.

His brother makes it entirely known that he’s frustrated with him and that their movie night started ten minutes ago. If there was anything Loki was, he was annoyingly punctual. 

Thor’s phone buzzes again with another text from him, indicating that their friend Brunnhilde has already eaten an entire bowl of popcorn. Thor smiles to himself and shakes his head, shoving his phone into his pocket. He sighs, picking up his belongings and holding his book close to his chest. 

He approaches the front desk quietly, seeing the setting sun peeking through the windows of the building. The man is still there, his nose buried in a thick, large textbook. Thor gently sets his book on the counter and meets the other man’s eyes once again.

“I’d like to check this out.” Thor says simply, taking out his library card. The man nods and sets his book down. Thor’s eyes glance over at it, it’s a rather extensive physics book.

“Norse myth---”

“So what are you---”

They both look at each other awkwardly, the other man's hand frozen between the cover of Thor’s book. 

“You can go.” The other man offers and Thor thinks he sees the tips of his ears turn pink.

“I was just going to ask what you’re reading that for.” He resumes, leaning forward onto the desk and gesturing to the textbook. 

The man scans Thor’s book, sliding it over to him. “I’m studying actually, I’m working on my third PhD.” 

Thor is taken back and finds himself admitting, “I was never really into science growing up, though I was good at it, probably not as good as you.” 

“Norse mythology more your thing?”

“Well when you are blessed with a name like Thor, you’d assume so.” The other man’s eyes widen a bit.

“Is your name really Thor?” 

“I have a brother Loki as well.” Thor decides that the man looks extremely cute when he gives him a half smile.

He stares at Thor for a moment and then says “That’s… I mean--- I’m Bruce,” He holds out his hand which Thor shakes. “It’s not as interesting, but you know.”

Thor’s phone buzzes again and he pulls his hand away to check it. Another text from Loki.

“Excuse me, I have to actually meet my brother now.” He grabs his book, placing it under his arm and gives Bruce a wave. He gives a slight wave in return before Thor is out the door.

-

When Thor returns, he’s now a little sad to see that Steve is back, but he forgets about it quickly after they start talking again. He does get to flip through his sketchbook, in which he finds lovely drawings of buildings or people. There are an abundance of sketches of someone which Thor can’t say he’s ever seen before.

“Who’s this?” Thor asks, pointing at a sketch of a man with a lopsided grin and goatee. Steve cheeks go red and he puts his hands behind his back. Thor gets it now. 

“It’s uh, just a guy.”

“Ah…” Thor lets out, flipping the page to see even more sketches of the mystery man. “Just a guy, huh?” He smiles and flips to another page where his eyes linger on a cute sketch of Bruce. His dark curls are shaded in, his lips pulled into that half smile that Thor likes so much. It’s hard to look away from it.

He assumes he’s been staring at it for too long because without even looking he hears the smile on Steve’s lips when he mocks, “Just a guy, huh?”

Thor slams the sketchbook shut and pushes it towards Steve who bubbles up with laughter. 

-

Thor can’t remember when he fell asleep, just that he hears a loud thud and jolts awake. The book he was reading slips off his stomach and he catches it swiftly. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Bruce bending over to pick up a fallen book and his shoulders relax. 

“Oh shit,” Bruce mutters, glancing at Thor. He slides a book back into the shelf. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” 

“You’re fine.” Thor rubs his eyes and fishes his phone out, seeing a single message from Brunnhilde that’s probably just a dumb picture. He starts to gather his things again and slips his backpack onto his shoulders, walking past Bruce towards the front.

“Wait!” Bruce calls out to him, carrying a dark green book with him. “Uhm, here.” He holds it out to Thor who takes it in his hands. 

“I found this book the other day, I thought that you’d like it.” Thor does love it in fact, well, he loves it because Bruce gave it to him, not that he’s read it before. He looks it over, as it’s seemingly a small modern book about Norse folktales. He can’t help but smile at him. 

“Thank you, it means a lot,” Thor says, putting a hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze. He feels Bruce tense up and quickly pulls his hand back. “Oh, I’m sorry if---”

“Don’t worry about it, really,” Bruce replies a little too quickly. “I hope you enjoy it.” 

Before Thor can say anything else, he runs off deeper into the library shelves, leaving Thor to try and ignore tightness in his chest. 

When he turns up at the front desk, Steve gives him a weird look.

“How’d you get this?” He asks him, flipping it over in his hands.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we aren’t supposed to put these on the shelves for another month or so, but I’ll let you check it out anyway,” Steve gives him a soft smile and hands the book back to him after he’s finished. “Must of been a mistake.”

“Yeah,” Thor lets out, looking at the book again. “A mistake.”

-

Thor finds a post-it note on the last page of Bruce’s book, which makes him smile like an idiot. He wastes no time saving the number to his phone, but decides he should probably tell Bruce how he liked it in person. 

So Thor returns the next day with the book in his hands and he sees Bruce at the desk again. He walks over and sets the book on the desk, resisting the urge to grab it again. Bruce looks at him and the book with worry in his eyes. 

“I devoured this book, though I probably should have savored it a bit more.” Thor admits, ”It was great--- loved it, actually.”

Bruce’s worried look turns soft as he subtly flips the book to the back cover and checks for the post-it. Thor takes out his phone and waves it in front of him playfully. 

“Don’t worry, that was my favorite part,” He kicks himself internally, because that really sounded better in his head, but when he sees Bruce turn a bright pink, he asks, “Coffee isn’t uh, too unreasonable right?”

“I would love to.” Bruce blurts out and suddenly, everything becomes a lot easier.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!
> 
> check out my [twitter](http://twitter.com/tazisthemaster) and [tumblr](http://xandars.tumblr.com)


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